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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JollyDoc" data-source="post: 6577901" data-attributes="member: 9546">Night Of Frozen Shadows6 Calistril-24 Calistril, 4715"What should I do now?" Spivey asked, looking lost and a bit forlorn as her guests packed up their gear and prepared to return to their caravan."Come with us," Yannus shrugged. "Your work here is done. What's keeping you?"The little angel looked thoughtful. "Where are you going?" she askedYannus turned to Ameiko, who had come to find her friends after awakening from her coma. She had explained to them that the Amatatsu Seal had also had a kami spirit attached to it, but when Rokuro had died, and the seal left abandoned, it had left its vessel to go in search of any surviving Amatatsus. When it had finally sensed her presence, it had possessed her, in a misguided effort to communicate. Now that the seal had been recovered, it had returned the kami had returned to resume its duties."First," she said, answering Spivey, "we are going to Kalsgard to reclaim my family's sword. Then, I intend to travel over the Crown of the World all the way to Tian Xia and Minkai to restore my family's name and heritage."Spivey's eyes grew large. "You are going to travel across the top of the world??"Ameiko winked and nodded."Even my former mistress never travelled so far!" Spivey exclaimed. "Yes, I would love to come with you! Just think of the stories I'll have to tell when I see Desna again!"___________________________________________________________________________The caravan of the Seven Scions of Sandpoint set out once more that afternoon, making for the upper Nolands, and then into the Land of the Linnorm Kings. Spivey and Kelda settled in nicely, though the latter ended up having to take over driving one of the wagons, as the Varisian woman Danica made it very clear that she had no intention of journeying across the world, and would be returning to Sandpoint immediately. Less than a day out of Brinewall, the caravan came upon a group of stranded travelers. They drove a pack train, but had lost too many of their animals to continue. They begged passage, but quite simply, the caravan had no more room. Instead, Sandru agree to sell the travelers some of their supply goods, and Yannus advised them that Brinewall castle was only a few miles back. It would a good place for them to hold up until they could recover and resume their journey.A day later, the caravan entered the cold, subarctic Land of the Linnorm Kings. One thing that was immediately noticeable were the ubiquitous flocks of ravens that constantly filled the skies above. It was Yannus who first noticed that, among the flocks, there was one much larger bird. Perhaps the size of a small dog, the raven also had one brilliant, red feather on one pinion. He pointed it out to the others, and the Varisians in the caravan immediately began forking the sign of the evil eye in its direction. "'Tis a blood-feather raven," Kelda explained. "'Tis a bad omen. Such creatures are thought to be servants of dark powers." As they continued to move north, the caravan stopped at the copper mine of Kopparberget, where a small village had grown up to support the dwarven miners there. They traded with the dwarves before setting out again, following an existing trade route to the town of Jol. Every other day or so, the blood-feather raven could be seen on the wing above them again, only to disappear a short time later. The mood among the Varisians grew more dour. The route turned towards the Grungir Forest, and cut through its eastern neck. They were no more than a day away from the bridge to the city of Losthome, when they were set upon by a band of trolls. The battle was fierce, and would have gone worse for the group had Piotr not pointed out that trolls were susceptible to fire. With the help of his magic, and judicious use of alchemical fire, the giants were routed, but not before the caravan took significant damage. They limped into Losthome, where they were forced to spend four days making repairs. Unrest increased among the Varisians, but the combined talents of Ameiko and Yannus helped ameliorate the situation. __________________________________________________________________________The path turned north again, following the western bank of the Thundering River, until it reached the confluence of that waterway and the Rimeflow River. There, at Skalsbridge, the caravan made camp. The night was cold, and a frozen mist clung low to the ground, making the light dim, even within the range of the campfire. The sounds of the night were muted, but the dull silence was suddenly broken by the scrape of wood upon the gravel bank of the river...a boat had beached just beneath the bridge. This was quickly followed by the splash of feet in the shallows, and the oath-cries and battle songs of Ulfen raiders.The heroes rushed forward to meet the onslaught of over a dozen crazed Ulfens while, out in the fog, they heard more raiders attacking the caravan. As the two groups clashed, Haroldo slashed the legs out from under one raider, while Yannus skewered another one. After that, however, Haroldo found himself surrounded and assaulted from all sides, while Yannus took a blow as he struggled to recover his glaive. Haroldo's blood boiled as he raged and hacked around him, cleaving his blade through two warriors. As his back was turned, two more Ulfens closed in, slashing at his exposed flank. Behind him, Lucian dropped a raider with a well-placed arrow, but he could see that the blood rager wouldn't last much longer. He rushed to Haroldo's side and laid his hands upon the big man, allowing the healing power of his god to flow through him and into his friend. Across the battlefield, Yannus continued to fend off raiders who were encroaching on Piotr. The sorcerer back-pedaled as he was being hemmed in, and then, at the last moment, he flung both hands out and loosed a cone of flames, engulfing all of his assailants. From behind them came Mazael, his falchion hewing madly, cutting down one of the burned Ulfens. Yannus took the opportunity to bring his own magic to bear, unleashing a brilliant flash of light, which blinded several of the warriors, but unfortunately affected Haroldo as well.Haroldo never slowed. The latent magic that lay within him caused his body to blur as he continued to rage, slashing about him madly, and continuing to bring down enemies, even blind as he was. The tide of battle inexorably turned as the Ulfens were cut down. Two turned and fled across the bridge, vanishing into the mists, but their brethren did not far so well. The heroes, battered and bloodied themselves, cut them down to a man. As the din of battle faded, Ameiko, Sandru, Koya, Shalelu, Kelda and Spivey joined them out of the mist, equally bruised and injured, but just as victorious. In the aftermath of the battle, the companions discovered that all of the raiders wore identical gold bands around their upper arms, engraved with the image of a stylized lion. "These are the mark of a ring-giver," Kelda explained. "A local lord will give these to his loyal men as a sign of fealty.""Do you recognize this emblem?" Yannus asked. "Why would they attack us?"Kelda shook her head. "There are many minor lords in Kalsgard," she explained. "Perhaps we can learn more when we reach the city."Further investigation also revealed the raiders' boat, a fifty-foot river craft with the name Aril's Hammer engraved on the prow. The group debated the wisdom of trying to row the ship down river to Kalsgard and sell it, but ultimately decided that might draw too much attention. The boat was scuttled. ________________________________________________________________________The remainder of the trek to Kalsgard was largely uneventful, save for a foiled attempt by a group of bandits to try and rob the caravan under cover of fog and darkness. Kalsgard itself came into view roughly twenty days after the caravan left Brinewall. The trading capital and oldest surviving settlement of the Linnorm Kingdoms, the city was a huge, bustling metropolis rising upon the southern shore of the Rimeflow River's wide mouth, with a population of over seventy thousand. "Once we pass the gates," Sandru explained, "we'll be entering the Bone Quarter. It's the poorest section of the city, but it's were most Varisian caravans camp. Mostly because the Ulfen's see little distinction between honest caravaneers, such as ourselves, and Sczarni con artists. I suggest, little brothers," he said to Yannus and Koman, "that you and your friends procure your own quarters in the city. This will help throw off suspicion while I make preparations for the journey over the Crown of the World." Following Sandru's advice, the heroes split up, and planned to meet up at an unassuming inn latter in the day. Piotr made his way through the city to the Fire Quarter, a rowdy district where all manner of Ulfen competition, relaxation, and entertainment took place. There he made surreptitious inquiries about the local lords and their sigils. It didn't take him long to discover that the lion's head emblem was the rune-sign of a ring-giver named Asvig Longthews. Further questioning also revealed that Fynn Snaevald, the merchant who purchased the sword Suishen from Rokuro Kaijitsu over sixty years ago, was still alive and well. He apparently still worked as an independent trader of amber and whale oil, as well as a collector of Tian antiquities, out of his home in the Amber Quarter. For his part, Yannus went in search of a shrine to his goddess, Shelyn, that he had leearned existed in the city. He finally found it in the Jade Quarter, a district which served as a home to a large Tian immigrant population coming over the Crown of the World. The old priest of the shrine was a man named Yin-Po. He was pleased to meet a fellow adherent of the love goddess, but was curious as to what had brought Yannus so far from home. "I'm hired on as a caravan guard," the young cleric explained, somewhat circuitously. "My employer is looking to find a guide over the Crown of the World to Minkai.""Oh, you may have difficulty there," Yin-Po shook his head. "This is the off-season for such travel. The morozko storms sweep across the Crown this time of year. Most of the guides who know the route are retained by the merchant guilds, and would not be free to take on such an unsanctioned journey.""I see," Yannus nodded. "You wouldn't happen to know of any freelance guides, would you?"Yin-Po looked at him guardedly."I'm afraid not," he said curtly. "In any event, I wish you good luck and a safe journey, brother. Please feel free to come by for services during your stay."________________________________________________________________________The companions regrouped and, based on Piotr's information, decided to first seek out Fynn Snaevald. Ameiko insisted on coming along, wanting to hear first-hand any information related to her family. The Amber Quarter was the hub of manufacturing and production in Kalsgard, with shops that sold similar wares congregating close together along the streets. Thus, it was not difficult to find Fynn's home. When Yannus knocked on he door, it was answered by a slender, wiry old man with blue veins crawling across his arms and neck beneath a shock of white beard and hair that floated around his head like a halo. "Help you?" he asked. "Are you Fynn Snaevald?" Ameiko asked."The one and only," the old man grinned. "And who might you be?""My name is Ameiko Kaijitsu," she replied. "Sixty years ago, your purchased a sword from my grandfather, Rokuro. Do you remember this?""Suishen," Fynn breathed. "Of course I remember. It hung over my mantle there up until two weeks past. I tried to carry it once upon a time, but it gave me a sort of...a funny feeling.""Two weeks?" Ameiko asked. "Did you sell it?""Hah!" Fynn barked. "Never! 'Twas stolen! A band of black-masked thieves broke in and took it! Didn't see them myself. Wasn't home, but several of my servants were killed in the dust up. One of my men, Olaf, was still alive when I came back. Told me what happened before he expired. The only thing he said about the thieves was that one of them was much taller than the others, and seemed to be in charge. I reported it to the city watch, but nothing's come of it. Tell you what, though: if you youngsters find out who took my property and killed my people, and exact my sworn blood vengeance upon them, then the sword is yours.""Can you think of anything else that might help us find the perpetrators?" Yannus asked.Fynn thought hard for a moment, stroking his beard."Now that you mention it," he said at length, "Olaf did say one more thing. He muttered something about paying the lion's due. Didn't think much of it at the time. Just the ramblings of a dying man who'd lost his wits."Yannus looked pointedly at his companions, and then withdrew one of the armbands they'd taken from the raiders from his cloak."Have you ever seen this before?" he asked."Aye," he nodded, taking the band. "'Tis the rune-sign of Asvig Longthews...Wait a minute! Longthews is a tall fellow. You think it was he that took the sword?""It would seem so," Yannus said. "Men wearing these rings set upon us on the road not five days past. Do you know where Longthews lives?""Not exactly," Fynn shook his head, "but I know his farm is somewhere outside of town. I also hear-tell that he has several dozen warriors as his bondsmen.""Well, he has a couple of dozen less now," Haroldo growled.__________________________________________________________________________It didn't take much investigating to discover that the farm of Asvig Longthews lay about a two hour walk southeast of the city, in an area of lightly forested and marshy hills. The companions decided to pay the local ring-giver a visit that very night. At first, Ameiko wanted to accompany them, but Sandru convinced her that it would be in her best interest to stay with the caravan and the Seal, while he went with the young heroes. Kelda also agreed to come along, since she was most familiar with Ulfen customs. When the group reached the Longthews farm, it was after nightfall, and the main house was ablaze with light, with the sounds of boisterous celebration coming from inside. As they approached cautiously, they saw that a ring of short wooden posts driven into the ground surrounded the farm and its outlying buildings. The main road to the house passed between two of those posts. The posts were topped with fancifully carved lion heads, matching those on Asvig's arm rings. Piotr held up a hand as the group drew closer."There's magic here," he murmured. "Some sort of conjuration dweomer."Mazael moved a few steps further. "There are runes carved into the posts," he said, "and it looks like someone drew another rune in the dirt between them, then tried to erase it. I think I can redraw it."He bent to the task, and after a few moments, stood up and nodded."I think I got it."To test the theory, he stepped between the posts. Instantly, there were two flashes of light, one from each post, and a moment later, a pair of large felines appeared out of thin air and, snarling, hurtled towards the companions.One of the summoned lions leaped for Sandru, and ripped at his arm with its razor-sharp claws. The second one pounced on Lucian, clawing and biting. Lucian drew his cudgel from his belt and slammed it across the snout of the beast, while Sandru rolled behind it and thrust his sword through its spine. With a yowl, the lion-creature vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Yannus and Mazael turned on the other cat, and quickly dispatched it as well.The companions continued on, as quietly as they could, to the farmhouse. Just before they reached it, Sandru hissed to get everyone's attention. Turning to look at him, the others saw him point back up the road in the direction from which they'd come. There, perhaps a mile or two away, they saw a column of torches, maybe twenty or more, heading towards the farm."I figure we've got maybe an hour before we have company," Sandru said.Yannus nodded, then gestured for Haroldo to open the door. The big warrior slammed one large boot into the door and sent it flying inward. The long main hall beyond had a sunken floor with a raised platform along the sides. These were crowded with trestle tables and chairs, while a fire pit dominated the center of the floor. Twenty Ulfen warriors filled the room, though maybe half of them were passed out drunk. The others were drinking heavily, and manhandling the young female thralls serving them. The noise stopped abruptly as the door slammed open."ON BEHALF OF FLYNN SNAEVALD," Yannus's voice boomed into the silence, "WE DEMAND WEREGILD FROM ASVIG LONGTHEWS!!"The silence stretched a heartbeat longer, and then the Ulfens burst into laughter as they rose to their feet and drew their battle axes...</blockquote>

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